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SERMON, 



PREACHED AT THE FUNERAL OF HIS 

EXCELLENCY WILLIAM EUSTIS, ESQ„ 

LATE GOVERNOR OF 
THE CO»X2XONWI:aZ.TH or KIASSACHUSBTTS; 



irr PRESENCE OF 



STfie eonstittttrir ^utfioritirii^ 

OF THE STATE, 
TEBBUJaAir 11, 1825. 



B7 DAmziI. SELARP; 

Chaplain of the Senate. 



BOSTON: 

PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

True •nd Greene, Printers to the State. 



^ 1825. 



r 






Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Feh. 14, 1825. 

TO THE REV. DANIEL SHARP, CflAPLAIN OF THE SENATE. 

Sir, — The undersigned, a Committee of both branches of 
the Legislature, in conformity to their order, present their 
thanks for the Sermon deUvered by you, in presence of the 
constituted authorities of the State, at the funeral of his late 
Excellency, William Eustis, Governor and Commander 
in Chief of this Commonwealth, and request a copy thereof 
for the press. 

J. RICHARDSON, ^ 
JOHN MASON, I 

CHARLES TRAIN, )- Committee, 
HENRY THACHER, 
CYRUS MERRICK, J 



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SERMON. 



PSALM xc. 12. — So teach ns to number our days,, that we inaij 

applij our hearts unto wisdom. 

We are assembled, Fellow Citizens, on an occa- 
sion of peculiar and solemn interest. The death 
of an individual, even in the most obscure walks of 
society, is to his limited circle of friends an affect- 
ing occurrence. And although it cannot be ex- 
pected that such a case should excite any gen- 
eral notice, yet, when the chief magistrate of a 
community, who has devoted a long life to the 
service of his country, is removed by death, the 
public feel that they have sustained a loss. It is 
due both to the living and the dead that there 
should be a public expression of the sympathy 
which prevails, and of the gratitude which is cher- 
ished at the remembrance of patriotic deeds. The 
living need all the incitement that may be derived 
from a contemplation of the efforts and sacrifices 



4 



which have been made by eminent men ; and al- 
though the dead cannot be profited by human 
praise, yet their useful actions ought not to be 
forgotten. 

Influenced by these views, the honorable Exec- 
utive and the Legislature of the State, as the au- 
thorized organs of the public sentiment and 
feeling, have directed that all suitable honors be 
paid to the remains of the late venerable Govern- 
or of this Commonwealth. By the same direction 
we are now convened in this house of worship, to 
implore the blessing of the Almighty, and to make 
some improvement of this afflictive Providence. 

While it is proper that we manifest unfeigned 
respect for the memory of the distinguished indi- 
vidual who has deceased ; and while we give 
evidence that we are not insensible to the benefits 
he has conferred, both on the State and on the 
Nation, we should also be concerned, that this 
visitation should not pass away, without adminis- 
tering to us some salutary instruction, and leav- 
ing some deep and permanent impressions favor- 
able to a life of piety and virtue. It will be my 
purpose to contribute to this desirable object by 
offering a few remarks on the importance of 



forming a just estimate of the duration of our 
earthly existence. 

There is no future event more certain than the 
dissolution of the body. In our serious moments 
we all acknowledge that Death is an enemy from 
whom we cannot disengage ourselves, and against 
whom we cannot contend with any hope of success. 
We can neither bribe him by our wealth, nor can 
we occupy a station so honorable and elevated, 
that he will not dare to approach us. " Pale death 
strikes with equal foot the cottages of the poor 
and the palaces of princes." We have no strength 
to resist his power ; and no armour which is proof 
against his arrows, when he marks us as his vic- 
tims. We are sensible that there is no discharge 
in this war. Death is a mysterious and awful 
modification of our existence to which we must 
submit, whether prepared for it or not. 

But notwithstanding we assent to these solemn 
truths, they leave a very faint impression on our 
minds, and their practical effect upon us is small, 
when compared with what might be expected. It 
is acknowledged that our bodies must return to 
the earth, and yet how many are as intently occu- 
pied concerning them, as if they were to remaiji 



here forever. It is acknowledged that our souk 
are in every respect superior to our bodies, and 
3^et, alas ! how many act, as though they did not 
believe in the doctrine of immortality, or the neces- 
sity of being made " meet to be partakers of the 
inheritance of the saints in light." 

Is it asked, why is our conduct so much at 
variance with the admission of the fact, that we 
must soon die ? The answer must be, we have 
not an habitual conviction of this fact on our 
minds. The love of life is a principle deeply 
seated in the breast of man, we are therefore 
induced to put from us the thoughts of death. 
Surrounded by the things which are seen and tem- 
poral, yve forget the things which are unseen and 
eternal. The duties which necessarily occupy our 
attention ; the cares which distract our thoughts ; 
and the objects which claim and divide our affec- 
tions, without the utmost vigilance on our part, 
will secularize our minds, limit our field of vision, 
and shut out eternity from our view. We must 
ascribe to causes like these the inconsistency which 
is so frequently observable between our conduct 
and the better dictates of our understandings. 
Now to neutralize as much as possible the tenden- 
cy of these things, we should pray with the Psalm- 



ist in our text ; " So teach us to number our days, 
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." And 
we should often and seriously consider our latter 
end, and the measure of our days^ what it is ; that 
we may know how frail we are. 

1. Such a course of pious meditation will give 
us a just view of the value of our time. 

Perhaps there is nothing of which we hear more 
universal complaint than of tlie shortness of time. 
And yet, short as it is, there is nothing which to 
many is so great a burden. At each stage of their 
existence they would willingly blot out a portion 
of their days. The youth would be glad to pass 
at once to a state of manhood ; and the man in 
business would willingly pass over the intervening 
distance, if he might retire from the active concerns 
of life to scenes of ease and affluence. Were it 
not impossible to resist the evidence which so fre- 
quently forces itself upon us, we could not con- 
ceive of the various expedients to which men 
resort with the hope of annihilating time. When 
religion is disregarded, and there is no desire to 
improve the faculties of the mind ; when there is 
no just view of the duties which are incumbent 
upon us in social life, and the passions are predom- 
inant, solitude becomes irksome, and any thing like 



rational employment is a task ; hence the gold- 
en moments of life are trifled away, in vain amuse- 
ments or forbidden pleasures. 

Would you apply your hearts unto wisdom ! 
Would you form a just estimate of the value of 
time ! address yourselves diligently, and studious- 
ly to the arithmetic of human life. Add up the 
number of your days, and yoil will be compelled 
to acknowledge, that they are few and evil ; that 
your years pass away like a tale that is told ; and 
that should the days of your years be three score 
years and ten, yet they will soon be but as yester- 
day when it is passed, and as a watch in the night 
Go to the habitation of one who is just closing his 
mortal career, and you will there learn, when the 
last sands of life are running out, when the vital 
stream has receded to its lowest ebb, and eternity 
is near, that every moment is more precious than 
rubies. How important then that we should be 
parsimonious of our time. We should work while 
the day lasts, for the night cometh in which no 
man can work. While there is so much for each 
of us to do, in contending with the evil propensi- 
ties of our natures, in attaining higher degrees of 
intellectual and moral excellence, in performing 
the private or public duties of our station, and in 



promoting works of jDiety and mercy, we ought 
never to imagine that we may waste our time. 
The wisest of men says to each of us ; " Whatso- 
ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; 
for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, 
nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest." 

2d. A just computation of the number of our 
days will lead us to form more correct ideas of 
the nature of earthly good. 

If we would arrive at rational conclusions con- 
cerning the real value of objects, we must consid- 
er, not only their capacity to impart to us present 
enjoj^ment, but the extent and duration of that ca- 
pacity. When the Psalmist on one occasion lost 
sight of this principle he became extremel}^ per- 
plexed. He saw some around him who were in 
worldly prosperity ; they were increasing in riches ; 
their eyes stood out with fatness ; they had more 
than heart could wish; and when he contrasted 
their situation with the chastening that he endured 
all the day long, he repined at the dispensations of 
providence. But when he went into the sanctuary 
and understood their end, and was persuaded, that 
all their pomp and riches would pass away like a 
dream of the night, his perplexities were remov- 
2 



10 

ed, and he exclaimed with pious joy; "Whom 
have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none up- 
on earth that I desire besides thee." 

Were we sure that the houses which we rear r.nd 
beautify, and the lands which we purchase would be 
ours for ever, then there might be very powerful rea- 
sons urged, why we should employ all our thoughts, 
and give all our affections, and exhaust all our 
energies on these objects. And if asked why so 
intent on our houses and lands, we might repl}^, 
we are purchasing an estate for eternity, we are 
building a habitation in which we are to dwell for 
ever. The word Eternity would stamp an infinite 
value on these objects, and would give them an 
importance which nothing merely temporal can 
possess. But how stands the case ? The places 
which now know us, will soon know us no more 
for ever. In a very short period our habitations 
will become the habitations of mourning. The 
last struggle of dissolving nature will subside, and 
the funeral car will stand before our doors, to re- 
ceive our lifeless frames and convey them to the 
tomb. 

If then we look forward to the end of our mor- 
tal course, we shall not fail to be convinced, that 



11 

it is unwise to give our undivided attention to ob- 
jects which are all to perish with the using, or from 
which we must inevitably be taken away. As 
temporal blessings, which are wisely adapted to 
our condition, while we are strangers and pilgrims 
on the earth, they are not to be disregarded ; but 
it is a truth which can not be too deeply impressed 
on our minds, that soon, the honors we are now so 
anxious to attain will be of no more value to us 
than a breath of air ; the riches we are now la- 
bouring to acquire will be transferred to others ; 
and of all our possessions we shall need nothing, 
except a shroud, a coffin, and a grave to hide our 
remains from human view. Such being the evan- 
escent nature of all earthly good, we need not be 
surprised, that while the apostle Paul thought it 
proper to give directions concerning one of the 
most interesting connexions of life, he should have 
added the following important caution : " But this 
I say, brethren, the time is short ; it remaineth, 
that both they that have wives be as though they 
had none; and they that weep as though they 
wept not; and they that rejoice as though they 
rejoiced not ; and they that buy as though they pos- 
sessed not ; and they that use this world as not 
abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth 
away." 



12 

Nor will a consideration of the mortality of man 
have a less happy effect in teaching us the transi- 
tory nature of human greatness. When we forget 
the solemn truth, that our life is but a vapour, 
which appeareth for a little time, and then van- 
isheth away, we are in great danger of being capti- 
vated by the splendour of wealth, and of feeling 
too intense an anxiety to obtain distinction among 
men. Every moment is employed, and every fac- 
ulty is exerted for the acquisition of riches or 
honors; and if these are not obtained we are dis- 
satisfied with our condition, and murmur at the 
wise allotments of Providence. And it will be 
well, if others, who have gained these objects, are 
not viewed by us with a spirit of envy. 

There is nothing indeed, in a rational impres- 
sion, that our days on earth are as a shadow, that 
should take away a laudable desire for honorable 
and useful distinction, especially, if it may give us 
a more favorable opportunity of exerting ourselves 
for the good of our fellow men. But I am now 
speaking of an anxiety to be distinguished not as 
means to attain a valuable end, but merely for the 
gratification of the pride and vanity of the human 
heart. And surely, a persuasion that our Creator 
" will bring us to death and to the house appoint- 



13 

ed for all living," cannot fail to diminish our anx- 
iety for an object which is so fleeting and unsub- 
stantial We must be satisfied that man, at his 
best estate, is vanity, and that whatever career of 
glory he may run, he must finish his course in the 
grave. Whatever station we may occupy, or what- 
ever honors may be conferred upon us by others, 
the period must come when the places which now 
know us shall know us no more for ever. Why 
then, in pursuit of mere worldly honors, should we 
dis;quiet ourselves in vain } Why should we cling 
to objects as solid good, which in a few more days, 
will in our estimation " be lighter than nothing and 
vanity ?" 

Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour i 
Why grasp at air, for what is earth beside ? 
What, tho' we wade in wealth, or soar in fame, 
Earth's highest station ends in " Here he lies ;" 
And dust to dust concludes her noblest song. 

3d. A just view of the number of our days will 
make us feel the importance of being prepared 
for death. 

" So teach us," says the Psalmist, " to number 
our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wis- 
dom." And we are informed, by an inspired 
writer, that " the fear of the Lord is the beginning 



14 

of wisdom, a good understanding have all tliey 
that keep his commandments." Now as we must 
soon die, and our condition after death will be 
affected by the character we possess here, it will 
be perceived, that it is our highest wisdom to be 
prepared for a future world. It is true, indeed, 
religion is not to be viewed as some mysterious 
operation, intended exclusivel}^ to fit us for heaven; 
it is on the contrary to be viewed in relation to 
our whole existence. It is a peculiar excel- 
lence of Christianity that the influence which it 
exerts over us in making us meet for the world 
to come, does at the same time make us virtuous 
members of the world that now is. It teaches 
us " that denying ungodhness and worldly lusts, 
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in 
this present world, and that whatsoever things 
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatso- 
ever things are pure, whatsoever things are love- 
I}, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there 
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, we 
should think on these things." 

But as there is another and an eternal state upon 
which we are assured, that we must soon enter, 
it supplies us with an additional and most weighty 
reason why we should apply our hearts unto wis- 



15 

dom. Perhaps there is not an individual here, 
who does not admit the importance of religion ; 
and who has not determined, at some future time, 
to commence the pursuit of it in earnest. When 
you have accomplished some objects, which in 
your estimation, at least, are interesting and im- 
portant, then you propose to become religious. 
But let me ask, do you know that you shall live to 
accomplish yo.ir purposes ? Have you made an 
agreement with death, or a league with the grave .^ 
Your life is suspended by a thread; and while 
you are pursuing your plans, the thread may be 
broken, and thus the hand of death may frustrate 
all your designs. The very possibility that this 
may be the case, should induce you to " seek the 
Lord while he may be found, and to call upon him 
while he is near." Instead of its being your chief 
aim to seek this world first, let the consideration 
that your days are as a hand-breadth, cause you 
solemnly to regard the exhortation of the Saviour ; 
" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his right- 
eousness : and all these things shall be added unto 
you." Indeed, a conviction of our frailty, will of 
itself, be of no particular advantage, unless, by 
producing a wise forethought, it leads us to pre- 
pare, by a life of faith, piety, and virtue on earth, 
for the eternal happiness of heaven. 



16 



Having offered a few remarks, whicli the mourn' 
ful dispensation that has brought us together has 
suggested, it will probably be expected that I shall 
at least sketch a faint outline of the history and 
character of our late lamented chief magistrate. 

It is to me a source of extreme regret, that I 
have not been able to obtain a knowledge of such 
eventful incidents in his life, as no doubt must 
have occurred to him during a period of seventy 
years, and which might peculiarly serve to de- 
velope the principles and feelings by which his 
conduct Avas governed. Neither have I had the 
advantages arising from personal acquaintance, 
to enable me to place those traits of char- 
acter in their best light, which so endeared 
him to those who were honored with his friend- 
ship. Having offered this apology, I trust the 
candor of my audience will make all due allowance 
for the imperfect account I shall give of the public 
life of the deceased. 

His late Excellenc}'- William Eustis was born 
at Cambridge, in the month of June, 1752. The 
residence of his parents was in Boston, but some 
particular circumstances transpired about that 
time, which induced them to make a temporary 
removal. Soon after the birth of their son. how 



17 

ever, they returned to this town, where the de- 
ceased received the rudiments of his education. 
Having been prepared at the public Latin school, 
he entered the university at Cambridge, and was 
graduated in 1772. His talents and learning were 
respectable, and he left college with credit to him- 
self, and pleasure to his friends. 

Having made choice of the medical profession, 
he was so fortunate as to commence his studies 
with that eminent physician, and ever memorable 
patriot. Doctor Joseph Warren, who, a short time 
before his lamented but glorious death, had been 
appointed a Major General in the army of the rev- 
olution. Doctor Eustis, being a young man of ar- 
dent feelings, and decidedly in favor of the Inde- 
pendence and liberties of his country, and having 
studied medicine about three years, with the ad- 
vice and (;onsent of General Warren, offered his 
services as a surgeon to the army. On the 19th of 
April, 1775, he left this town for Cambridge, and 
with several other young physicians, without a 
regular commission, voluntarily attended the pro- 
vincial hospital at that place. He was actively 
engaged in his professional duties at the battle of 
Bunker Hill, where Warren, his friend and in- 

structer, fell in the cause of freedom. 

3 



Ig 

In 1776, he was appointed Hospital Surgeon^ 
and was stationed at the hospital at West Point. 
From this time he continued in the responsible 
office of a senior surgeon, to the close of the Rev- 
olution. In discharging the duties of his station, 
his promptitude and skill, and his humane and 
kind attention to his patients were such, as not 
only endeared him to officers of distinguished 
rank, but also to private soldiers. 

Having witnessed the return of peace, and with 
it, the only thing which could have made peace 
desirable, the acknowledgement of our Indepen- 
dence by the mother country, Doctor Eustis took 
up his abode in this town, and established him- 
self in the duties of his profession. 

It could hardly be expected, that a person who 
had taken such a deep interest in the affiiirs of his 
country, and had spent so many years in the army^ 
should be a silent spectator of political events. 
Hence the deceased took an active and decided 
part on almost every public subject, whether it 
related to the government of the town, the affairs 
of his native State, or the condition of the nation. 
Nor were his fellow-citizens insensible to his po- 
litical worth. He was repeatedly elected by 



19 

them a member of the House of Representatives. 
While in the Legislature he acquired a high de- 
gree of celebrity as a public speaker. His action 
was graceful, and he expressed himself in such 
soft and persuasive tones of eloquence, as to de- 
light all who heard him. Possessing these advan- 
tages, it may easily be conceived, that he exerted 
a powerful influence in all the measures of the 
State. Having, for several years, taken an active 
part in the debates and deliberations of the House, 
during the administration of his Excellency Gov- 
ernor Sullivan, he was two years a member of the 
Executive Council. 

He was frequently elected a member to Con- 
gress, and in 1809, such was the opinion of the 
Executive of the nation of his talents and patriot- 
ism, that he was appointed to the distinguished 
office of Secretary of War. Having remained in 
that elevated station several years, at the restora- 
tion of the House of Orange, he was appointed 
Public Minister to the Netherlands. On his re- 
turn, he was again repeatedl}^ sent to Congress 
from Norfolk District : and on the resii^nation of 
the chair of State by another venerated and be- 
loved patriot and soldier of the revolution, he was 
elected Chief Magistrate of this Commonwealth. 



20 

All are united in bearing respectful testimony that 
his late Excellency was, during a long life, devoted 
to the welfare of his country ; and, that during the 
term in which he held the highly responsible 
office of Governor of this State, it was his am- 
bition to promote its various interests to the 
utmost of his power. 

Those who have known him best, dwell now 
with pleasing, but melancholy remembrance, on 
his frank and amiable deportment, his decision of 
character, and his unbending attachment to the 
civil and political institutions of his country. 

But, whatever services we may render mankind, 
however honorable a place we may fill, by the 
preferment of a free and enlightened community, 
and however long we may be continued on earth, 
it is the decree of Heaven, " that there is no man 
who liveth that shall not see death." The address 
is made to low and high, rich and poor, together : 
" Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 
" I have said ye are gods, aind all of you are chil- 
dren of the Most High ; but ye shall die like men, 
and fall like one of the princes." 

Could honorable station, or sincere friendship, 
or gratitude for long and past services, have secur- 



Lot«19 



21 

ed to us a little longer the life of our venerated 
Chief Magistrate, we should not now ha>e been 
assembled in this house of mourning. But such 
has been the will of God, and it becomes us to 
bow with profound submission. 

There is something in this event peculiarly- 
affecting to us as citizens of the United States. 
Another patriot of the revolution is gone. One 
who saw the commencement of the struggle for 
nidependence, whose heart beat high for the free- 
dom of his country, who lived to see its institu- 
tions settled on a firm, and we trust, an immovea- 
ble basis, and to behold and rejoice in the bright 
morning of its prosperity, is now taken from us. 
It is a consideration peculiarly humiliating to the 
pride of man, that of the eminent statesmen and 
heroes of that period, there are only a few left to 
tell us with their own lips, what great things God 
hath done for us in the days that are past. To 
the few who do survive, we would ever pay the 
homage of our filial reverence and gratitude. 

The short sketch which I have given, will, I 
trust, impart this instructive lesson, that what- 
ever may be our situation in life, whether pri- 
vate or public, we should honorably and firmly 
discharge our duty. Had the patriots of our revo- 



22 

lution failed in their heroic attempt, they knew, 
that if death were not the consequence, they 
would inevitably be covered with obloquy and 
scorn. But they knew, that the cause in which 
they had embarked was just, and, therefore, re- 
lying on the protection and blessing of Provi- 
dence, they went forward. Success attended their 
noble but hazardous enterprise, and their posterity 
remember them with gratitude. This feeling, so 
honorable to the character of man, was manifested 
towards our late Governor, while living, and it 
has incited the community this day, to pay their 
last sad tribute of respect at his death. 

May we be anxious in our day, and in our res- 
pective spheres of action, faithfully to serve our 
generation ; then, when we are gathered to our 
fathers, the recollection of our names will be 
precious. Should we be so happy as to render 
important services to the State, our memory will be 
associated with those worthies, who laid the foun- 
dation of our national greatness, who labored for 
our independence, and who added new lustre to 
their former deeds, by establishing a system of 
government, on the novel, but self-evident princi- 
ple, that all men are born Tree and Equal, and 
thus, future generations will number us among the 
benefactors of mankind. 




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